An evening soiree was hosted by Designer Sumona Parekh who showcased her Bridal/ Fall Winter 2015 Collection themed as “Festive Florals” at KASHISH Infiore, at Kundamal House, ‘X’ Hughes Road, Mumbai. The evening witnessed Actress Soha Ali Kahn and Actress Sonal Chauhan looking resplendent in designs from Sumona’s bridal/festive 2015 collection. Besides actress Kehkahshan Patel, Producer Aarti Srendranath, Rashmi Nigam, Actress Ira Dubey and Singer Manasi Scott too donned pieces from the designer’s collection
The evening also witnessed a short salon style presentation of Sumona ‘s bridal / festive collection . Many prominent personalities from various walks of life graced the evening.
Sumona’s is a modern eclectic collection from a woman who fell in love with Monet’s flower paintings, saw those reflections of nature in her mother’s beautiful Bengali hand-made gold jewellery, and took those ideas forward into her silver jewellery, luxury prêt line and bridal couture. The signature sunflower motif has companions now from Claude Monet’s garden with daisies, chrysanthemums, dahlias and tulips.
“This collection of Bridal Couture, Luxury Prêt collection and branded Silver Jewellery has made a long journey with travels from Bengal to Rajasthan with a collection of ideas from the wire and plate work of old Kolkata jewellers to Jaipur for gota work on our skirts. There were pre-planned detours to Pakistan for zardozi embroidery, Japan for kirigami appliqué work and to Europe of the 1950s for a classic silhouette. The result was a tailored feminine look with full skirts and fitted bodices from Europe and embroidery with Eastern couture techniques. We have dreamt of the beautiful, found magic in parts and places and attempted to reconcile those with the modern day bride as well as the contemporary woman,” says Sumona
The jewellery of Sumona Silver is inspired by travels, from the length and breadth of Colonial India during the British Raj with its most frequent foot prints to be found in Bengal. There are also impulsive inspirations in this collection where Rajbari heritage meets the Art Deco period of the western world. The Rainbow Collection is a clear demonstration of this where flowers and leaves meet sudden triangles, ovals and squares. The Romance Collection with the sheen of South sea pearls and the subtle translucent glimmer of moonstones against black onyx is the stuff of colonial-era cocktail evenings. Old world charm with new age twists and turns is the catch phrase of this Sumona Silver Collection.
Sumona Couture’s Luxury Prêt Collection comprises of primary colours like red, blue, cream and white with mehendi green thrown into the mix. The cuts for the tunics and floor lengths are classic and contemporary. The hand-work on this luxury prêt collection has the sunflower motif of Sumona Couture embroidered in a subtle variation with silk threads in self-on-self finish. Outlining of the flower motif is done with zardozi work. “The goal was to highlight our repertoire of embroidery skills to emphasize the cut and flow of the garments without interfering in the overall vision,” clears the designer.
The Bridal Collection has lehenga skirts in four different cuts – traditional kalli cuts, the more modern bias cut, the figure-hugging fish cut as well as skirts in a throwback Victorian cut which has straight kallis in the front and back with circular side flares. As a result, the structure of these ‘old wine-new bottle’ Victorian skirts is vibrant and active.
Sumona Prarekh’s story began three years ago when she first laid the foundation stone for Gaja Heritage in Kolkata in 2010. Born into a Christian -Bengali family with love for art and travels and married to a Gujarati business man, she introduced the antique jewellery craftsmanship of the Bengal gharanas with a contemporary twist.
Her understanding of design aesthetics and the innovative use of traditional crafts is what she plans to extends into her clothes. Sumona’s designs are distinct and innovative as she brings together the romance of her jewellery motifs into her clothing line. She draws her inspiration largely from the intricate designs of nature; that infuses traditional motifs with modern fabrics, silhouettes and cuts creating a collection that caters to the design sensibility of all age groups.
Her ‘Spring bridal’ line itself has been derived from flora, its serenity and enchanting characteristics and reflects the wonder of filigree work (mostly used in jewellery crafting) with its flower and leaf motif and magic of paisley. There is a distinct presence of her jewellery workmanship in the khakas of each border, weaved in modern fabrics like, chiffon, georgette and net. Her collection is unmistakable panache and picturesquely classy.